When do I add hops pellets to my beer wort?

When do I add hops pellets to my beer wort?

All grain boil ups

The beer wort is often boiled with the hops added at crucial moments just prior to being cooled.

The timings of when to add the hops in the boil can be critical because the different boil times cause the hops to work differently on the beer by imparting differing qualities.

If you are making your own wort (that is you are not using a beer kit) then it's best practice to follow a tried and true recipe, at least as you start out.

This part of the process is often referred to as the “hop schedule”. A hop schedule will list the length of time that the hops should be in the boil, not the amount of time you should wait to add the hops. So pay attention to what you are reading!

Following the schedule properly will allow you to make your timings correctly. It's basically the rule of 'follow the recipe' - until you are experimenting with hops!

The rough guide to using hops on the boil is the longer you boil the hops, the more bitterness they will impart into the wort.

The shorter time frame you boil them, the more flavors will be added to the beer.

It all depends on how you want your beer to benefit from the hops addition.

Some beer recipes will also call for hops to be dry hopped when fermenting.

Adding hops with a beer kit wort

If you are using a simple beer extract kit then you can add the hops when you are preparing the batch of wort.

Some people like to delay adding the hops until a few days later. This is fine, but in our experience of using brewing kits, it makes little difference to the end result in the hop aromas and taste your beer will have.

Dry hopping is often considered inefficient as not all the bittering components of the hops are released into the beer - one way to increase the efficiency of the release is by making a hop tea.